LAHAINA, HI- If you’re going to act like a moron as a tourist, you should expect to pay the consequences. That is a lesson a yet-to-be-identified tourist learned while vacationing in Hawaii when he was seen throwing large rocks at an endangered seal that is beloved by locals. His actions in throwing rocks at a helpless seal caught the attention of a Hawaiian local who proceeded to pummel the Seattle-based tourist after he witnessed the attack, The New York Post reported.
The seal, known by Hawaiians as Lani, was swimming along the shoreline in Lahaina on the island of Maui last week when the tourist, 37, thought it brave to throw a large rock at the seal, according to social media posts and the Hawaii Department of Natural Resources.
As word spread of the attack caught on camera, one local who was having none of it tracked down the tourist and gave him a lesson in justice Hawaiian style, punching him repeatedly. A viral clip showed the shirtless islander approaching the tourist from behind and knocking him down in a series of blows.
dir="ltr">State Sen. Brenton Awa praised the vigilante tourist beater, showing off a letter of recognition for the show of support for a beloved local icon.
“Some of us have seen environmental activists, I like to call them, who took matters into his own hands to educate what might happen when you mess with our lands or the animals,” Awa said. “Our attorney over here wants to make it clear we don’t condone violence, but we did make a letter of recognition for Mr. Ambassador of Aloha.”
“And I do just want to say that from our caucus, we see this all the time with people with a different type of mentality coming in and destroying our stuff, essentially, in this case, animals. But we’d like at least the airline to play this type of video on all flights incoming so people don’t do this kind of stuff,” he added.
The Hawaii Department of Natural Resources said that the unidentified tourist was held for questioning, but was released after he requested legal counsel. No criminal charges have yet been filed.
dir="ltr">“Let me be clear, this is not the kind of visitor we welcome on Maui,” Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said in a video posted to social media.
“We welcome respectful visitors that understand our cultural environment and wildlife must be treated with care and aloha. Behavior like this will not be tolerated.”
Bissen said that the attack on an endangered marine mammal struck a personal chord for many in the community. The seal has become a symbol of Maui’s recovery following the devastating Lahaina wildfires of a few years ago.
“Since Lani’s return to Lahaina following the 2023 wildfires, members of the Mayor’s team and residents alike have watched over and cared deeply for her,” Maui County said in an Instagram post.
Comments under the video of the tourist getting his clock cleaned seemed to indicate he had the beat down coming.
“Once he threw the rock, his fate was sealed,” one user wrote.
“Pretty bad when the whole state of Hawaii after you,” another commenter wrote.
If charged and convicted, the man could face a $50,000 fine and possible jail time for violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which includes Hawaiian monk seals.
The case has been turned over to federal prosecutors with NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement for possible prosecution under federal wildlife protection laws.
Give the bad guy a break, though…after all, he is from Seattle, where they elected a 40-something year old mayor who never had a real job and is living with her parents.
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